Improving Health Care for Children

By GENE HOYME

To say that we live in an exciting time in medicine is an understatement. Through our growing knowledge of the human genome, genomic medicine has taken center stage on the health care scene. By using information from each individual’s genetic blueprint, we are able to develop care plans that are both personalized and precise.

Gene Hoyme

CHILDREN’S GENOMIC MEDICINE CONSORTIUM SIOUX FALLS, S.D. NORMA.EIE@SANFORDHEALTH.ORG

Sanford Health’s own precision medicine program, Imagenetics, was the first of its kind to integrate genetic information into primary care for adults. This allows physicians to better assess a person’s risks for both rare and common diseases, thereby allowing for more accurate health supervision. But the driving force behind the Sanford Imagenetics program was determined to do more.

Denny Sanford has not only been an advocate for helping change the face of medicine but, through several generous donations, he has also been a catalyst for that change. Like many of us in the medical field, children have always held a special spot in Sanford’s heart. It was his vision and desire to improve the health care of our youngest patients that inspired the recently announced Sanford Children’s Genomic Medicine Consortium.

This collaborative group comprises prominent children’s hospitals from across the country. As equal partners, our goal is to embed genetics and genomics into pediatric primary and subspecialty care. The six founding members include: Sanford Children’s, Sioux Falls and Fargo; Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Denver; Banner Children’s at Diamond Children’s Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz.; Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego; and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. However, it is anticipated that this initial group will rapidly grow. Even at this early stage, we have received several requests from other major children’s hospitals asking to join us in this endeavor.

As this collaboration began to take shape, we wanted to ensure it would check all the boxes of the Sanford Children’s CARE model: Clinical innovation, Advocacy for our patients, Research and Education of the regional and national genetic and genomic health care workforce. The Sanford Children’s Genomic Medicine Consortium is an amazing chance to explore and develop ideas in all of these areas.

One of the first projects we are evaluating is using genetic and genomic information to ameliorate or cure some of the serious problems that occur in both full-term newborns and premature babies. With the help of rapid whole genome sequencing, we can achieve prompt diagnosis of life-threatening conditions and gain insight into potential lifesaving treatments.The partner children’s hospitals also hope to test an innovative cancer genetics panel, custom-tailored to evaluate tumors in children. By assessing the genetic signatures of individual children’s tumors, improved survival rates and treatment with fewer side effects are anticipated.

We are also excited to ramp up educational opportunities for those seeking careers in genomic medicine. In Sioux Falls, S.D., Sanford has already partnered with Augustana University to start a graduate program for genetic counselors, the first of its kind in the region. Now we hope to take this program model, and others being developed, to our consortium partners, thereby developing similar programs in the cities of the other founding members.

The consortium also has a national advisory board comprising representatives from industry leaders, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Human Genome Research Institute, among others. This will guarantee that we are on the right track scientifically and are pursuing goals that truly will have a positive impact on the health of children.

I am very excited about leading this unique collaboration. Many times health organizations work in silos; however, the Sanford Children’s Genomic Medicine Consortium seeks to pool the collective knowledge and resources of the members to create an environment that will produce results faster than any one organization could have accomplished alone.

PB